United
by Qu111Pen
Summary: A young werewolf is forced to flee her home pack when she failed to achieve her parents expectations of perfection. Now she is determined to build a life for herself away from her past, and to make sure no other lone wolf feels the way she did.


p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="b432bf38be254ef46b666b8ed511cae7"The night was unbearably cold. The storm had broken that afternoon, and the dark grey clouds had opened up to release a torrential downpour that had not ceased or slowed since it had begun. The animals had smelled the storm approaching and all were safely hidden away in their dens, burrows and nests. The rain was relentless. The icy sheets pelted the trees, and the water easily broke through the dense foliage and soaked the forest floor below. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="a2b3c3df7b0a442f6952111f575541be"Lightning cracked overhead, and in the brief flash of light, a small body could be seen making its way through the ferns and brush. A young girl, no more than 7 or 8 years old, was trekking steadily through the trees. She was a small child, her head hung low and her long brown hair fell in front of her face forming a curtain of dripping tendrils. Her arms were wrapped around her small body, and although she was not shivering, goose bumps had erupted across her arms. Her pale skin could be seen through her soaked, transparent clothes, and her bare feet made hardly a sound as she picked her way over the leaf covered earth. She knew where she needed to go to escape, and she needed to hurry. It wouldn't take her family long to realize that she was gone. They had a reputation to uphold, and they would not let her just walk away. They could not let her get away./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="782defb1c2a63b4d0fd56093e0165420"Amy had come from a very powerful pack of werewolves. Her mother and father were the alpha and luna of said pack and they were a pair of extremely determined and stubborn individuals. They aspired to have the strongest pack in Canada and hoped one day they would be acknowleged as the most powerful wolves in North America. The pack was unusually large, and all members were pushed beyond their breaking points. Their leaders demanded greatness and that's exactly what they gave them. Hunting and battle practice was mandatory for all ages, and it began at a very early age. This mentality of achieving greatness was not necessarily a bad practice, however it took a turn for the worse when Amy's parents ambitions drove them to do things that were not accepted by all. All young werewolves usually have their first shift around the time that humans would start puberty. However, if a young werewolf is put into a high stress situation at a very young age, it is possible to initiate their first shift at an earlier time. With this fact in mind, new orders were issued that as soon as a child was able to walk on their own, they would be subjected to situations in which stress would be introduced, in the hopes that the young werewolves would shift. The children were subjected to whippings, water boarding, anything that could induce the shift in them. And it was effective for most of the youngsters. The parents of these children were not upset by these practices. They made sure to be careful and not accidentally kill a child. It became a thing of pride. The younger your children shifted, the more impressive it was./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="cca887d0bfb58bd32ea610f6c5b3e95f"Amy was one of three siblings. Her parents had raised two boys before her. Both had shifted at a young age and both had grown into strong young werewolves. They would take over the pack once her parents had stepped down. When they had Amy, she showed signs of being different from a very early age. She was very compassionate growing up, very caring. She was a beautiful child, born with two different coloured eyes. One was an icy blue and the other was blood red. When it came time for Amys induced shift, it never worked. No matter what they did to try and induce the shift, she wouldn't shift. Days of attempts, turned into weeks of attempts. After months of trying, her parents became frustrated and disappointed. She was a disgrace to the family. To the entire pack. Her parents disowned her and she was demoted to more or less, a slave. She cleaned up after everyone, she was a punching bag for the younger children growing up. Nobody showed her any pity, nobody showed her any remorse. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="d10f2425b875294b8fcde2afc704f884"A few nights ago, Amy had overheard the senior members of the pack having a meeting. There was to be a big gathering of all the North American packs in a few days. Her name had popped up in the conversation and that had peaked her interest./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="e9d2a16b913b1835033c75985a12a611""We can't bring her with us to the gathering. She is a disgrace. She is the only child to ever fail the shift test. She will be a sign of weakness."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="54f3dc4d5e7a6a1702f9e9bf7d539c34""I agree with Darren. She is a sign of weakness for our pack. We need to remain strong as a whole. We don't have room for a weak link."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="7116654bb789151aabb1ad9c4d9a5215""She is also giving the other children doubts about our ways. They don't understand why there is a weakling freeloading on the back of this pack. She can't fight or hunt. She is dead weight."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="26394e5586cd64a00333d7725ec78e58"Amy stiffened at those words. She worked hard to cook and clean around the house. She felt powerless. She knew that those were skills that did not matter to them. They wanted strength and speed and cunning. Finally she heard her father speak.../p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="43630c799a2b3db0821df00f3487116f""I have discussed this with Patricia and we have decided. We have two sons who are ready to take our place. They are our strongest and swiftest wolves. Our daughter has been nothing but a disgrace and disappointment from day one. We are willing to make the sacrifice and have her executed for the good of the pack. Our reputation must not be tarnished by having a weakling cowering behind us."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="5960a4ab3c9ad4a7d7d9bff754c31f8e"Amy had ran swiftly to her room. She was shaking. She was a young child and they were willing to execute their own daughter just because she could not pass their stupid tests. She was young but she was far from being stupid. She would escape. She would head for the eastern border, cross the river and find somewhere safe. Somewhere away from these people, these unreasonable expectations. She would make a life for herself. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="b75c668e4a7b94c6d756b21ae7ecf7eb"The next day she thought about her plan repeatedly, making sure to go over every detail, making sure she would not fail. The first flaw she saw in her plan was that she did not have money. She knew she would need some cash to be able to live. She pondered this dilemma for a while and then decided that she would steal. She knew stealing was a punishable offence towards the pack and she would most likely be killed for attempting such a thing, but she dismissed that fact. She would be killed either way. It was worth the risk. She spent the rest of that day collecting small things from around the house that she would be able to sell. Expensive trinkets, jewelry, heirlooms. She even grew so bold as to slip into her parents room and snag a priceless jewelry box, filled with her mothers jewels./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="3a0c659e9906318d2103693e3bc0c6e6"The second problem Amy found was the speed. She had not shifted yet, and she knew that her pack members were faster than her while unshifted, but they would be even quicker in their wolf forms. She would have to leave during a meeting or pack event if she was to have a chance at escaping. Fortunately, she remembered overhearing some of the youngsters talking about a formal party that was to be hosted at the pack house, celebrating her older brothers birthday. "Perfect" she thought to herself. She heard the first faint grumbling of thunder in the distance as she prepared herself to leave once and for all./p  
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End file.
